Canada
Canada is the country in which all the present-day portions of Forever Knight episodes are set. Inevitably, Canada informs the background of the series, even though most of the stories could readily be adapted to other locations. Canada is in the northern half of North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the boundary with the United States of America, which (except for the state of Alaska) lies to the south. Canada is the world's second largest country by total area. Canada is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. There is no official religion; and support for religious pluralism is today an important part of Canada's political culture. * Motto: A Mari Usque Ad Mare (Latin: translates as "From Sea to Sea") * Symbols: maple leaf, beaver * National Anthem: "O Canada" * Capital city: Ottawa * Population: 31,612,897 (2006 census) History Archaeological studies support a human presence in the northwestern regions of Canada from 26,500 years ago, and in southeastern Canada from 9,500 years ago. Europeans first arrived around a thousand years ago, when the Vikings settled briefly at L'Anse aux Meadows. However, their colony failed. For practical purposes, European contact began in 1497, when John Cabot explored Canada's Atlantic coast for England, followed by Jacques Cartier in 1534 for France. From the start, therefore, the lands currently known as Canada were of colonial interest to two European nations. French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1603 and established the first permanent European settlements at Port Royal in 1605 and Quebec City in 1608. These would become respectively the capitals of the French colonies of Acadia (the Maritimes) and Canada (southern Quebec). However, French fur traders and Catholic missionaries explored further inland, from the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay, down the Mississippi watershed to Louisiana. Disputes over the control of the fur trade led to the French and Iroquois Wars, in which Javier Vachon took part. The English established fishing outposts in Newfoundland around 1610 and colonized the Thirteen Colonies to the south (which would eventually secede and form the United States of America). In 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company was granted trading rights; and, for several centuries, it controlled Rupert's Land, which comprised much of the area that would become western Canada. Britain thus controlled the south and west, but France controlled the east. There were four Intercolonial Wars between Britain and France between 1689 and 1763. Part of Acadia came under British rule with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). The Battle of the Plains of Abraham on 12 September 1759 (in which died both the French and British generals) was the pivotal battle in the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War; and most of New France, except for Louisiana, was ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris (1763). Although at first restrictions were placed on the language and religious rights of French Canadians, the Quebec Act of 1774 expanded Quebec's territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley and re-established the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law in Quebec. This was designed to reduce the risk of conflict in Quebec; but it angered many residents of the Thirteen Colonies, helping to fuel the American Revolution. Approximately 50,000 United Empire Loyalists fled the United States to settle in Canada. Following several constitutional conferences, the British North America Act, 1867 ("BNA Act") created Confederation with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Canada also assumed control of much of the western part of the continent north of the 49th Parallel, initially as the Northwest Territories, though all but the northernmost areas have long since been partitioned into provinces. The growth of the country through the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, combined with a sense of national identity forged through two World Wars, was eventually marked by the adoption of a new flag (the current Maple Leaf Flag) in 1965, implementation of policies of official bilingualism (1969) and official multiculturalism (1971), and the patriation of Canada's constitution from the United Kingdom, concurrent with the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Socially democratic programs were also founded in the second half of the twentieth century, most particularly a program of universal health care. Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Canada. Provinces and Territories Canada is a federation, with ten provinces and three territories. From east to west, the provinces are Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia (B.C.). The territories are Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon. It should be noted that, at the time Forever Knight was being made, the Province of Newfoundland had not yet been officially renamed Newfoundland and Labrador. Also, the territory of Nunavut had not yet been officially partitioned from the Northwest Territories. The Canadian provinces are often treated as grouped together in regions. Thus the provinces west of Ontario are considered to be Western Canada ("the West"), while the provinces from Ontario east are considered to be Eastern Canada ("the East"). Alternatively, the eastern provinces may be divided into Central Canada (Ontario and Quebec) and the Atlantic Provinces (the four easternmost). As well, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba are often referred to as the Prairie Provinces, or "the Prairies"; and Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and P.E.I. are referred to as the Maritime Provinces, or "the Maritimes". Since Canada is considered to have two founding nations of European settlement, one also needs to consider the subdivision into French Canada (Quebec, and francophone areas of other provinces) and English Canada (the rest). Forever Knight is set in Toronto, which is the capital city of the Province of Ontario. Government Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. As such, it separates the roles of head of state and head of government. Governor-General The British monarch is also the Canadian monarch, meaning that Queen Elizabeth II has been the head of state of Canada since her ascension to the throne in 1953. However, she only acts as head of state when actually in the country, which is seldom the case. In her absence, the role of head of state is taken by her viceroy, the Governor-General. During most of the time that Forever Knight was on the air, the Governor-General of Canada was Ray Hnatyshyn (1989-1995). The role of Governor-General is largely ceremonial; but it is the Governor-General who signs bills into law after they have been passed by Parliament. Prime Minister and Cabinet The Governor-General appoints as Prime Minister the head of the party that holds the confidence of the House of Commons. This normally means the head of the party that won the most seats in the last federal election. The Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of the House of Commons. If the Government loses a confidence vote, then the Prime Minister must go to the Governor-General, resign, and ask to have Parliament dissolved and a new election called. However, the Prime Minister also has the right to choose to ask the Governor-General to call an election—which could be at any time, but generally when he or she thinks the chances of being re-elected are at their best. The Prime Minister appoints Cabinet Ministers to form the executive branch of the government. During the first season of Forever Knight, the Prime Minister was Brian Mulroney (1984-1993), who was briefly succeeded by Kim Campbell (1993) when he resigned and she became the leader of the party. Mulroney and Campbell were leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party. During the period when the rest of the series was being made, the Prime Minister was Jean Chrétien (1993-2003); he was the leader of the Liberal Party. Houses of Parliament The legislature is bicameral, comprising the House of Commons and the Senate. The 308 people who sit in the House of Commons are called Members of Parliament (MPs). They hold office until Parliament is dissolved, which may be up to five years after the last election, though usually it is no more than four years. Each MP is elected by, and represents, one of the country's electoral districts ("ridings"). Any Canadian citizen over eighteen may vote in the riding where they live. A voters' register is produced and notices are sent out; but people who are qualified yet whose names do not appear on the register are still permitted to vote with identification. The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Seats are assigned on a regional basis. Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation to be passed, the Senate rarely rejects bills passed by House of Commons, though the Senate does occasionally amend bills. Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Canada. Currency See the page on Canadian money. Legal System See the page on the Canadian legal system. Public holidays See the page on Holidays in Canada. Canadian English More than 85% of Canadians have some knowledge of English. Approximately 17 million speak English as their native language (including 76% of the people living outside Quebec.) In many ways, Canadian English is very similar to the dialects of the adjacent regions of the United States. However, Canadian English contains elements of British English in its vocabulary, as well as several distinctive Canadianisms. Further more, in many areas, it has been influenced by French. A person whose mother tongue is English (and still speaks English as the first language) is called an anglophone. The corresponding term for a French speaker is francophone. Especially in Quebec, there is also a term, allophone, for a person whose mother tongue is neither English nor French. Canadian spelling has some features of both the British and American systems. On the one hand, you have such spellings as "colour", "cheque", "defence", and "centre". On the other hand, you get "program" and "aluminum", and the suffix is spelled "ize", rather than "ise" (e.g. "recognize"). In Canada, the last letter of the alphabet is pronounced "zed" (not "zee", as it is in the US). Miscellaneous * Right turns on a red light are prohibited in parts of Quebec, but allowed in the rest of Canada. * Canada officially uses the metric system; but supermarkets in most of the country list prices in both metric and Imperial measure (kilograms and pounds), weather reports often include both Celsius and Fahrenheit temperatures, and people still measure their height in feet and inches. On the other hand, the highway system has fully converted to measuring distance in kilometres. * Canada spans five and a half time zones. From west to east, these are Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern, and Atlantic (at one hour intervals), and Newfoundland, which is half an hour ahead of Atlantic time. Toronto, where Forever Knight is set, in in the Eastern Time Zone. Standard time is kept in the winter, and Daylight Savings Time in the summer. * Canada's national sports are ice hockey (winter) and lacrosse (summer). * Cars in Canada are fitted with block heaters to prevent engines from freezing in the winter. So that these can be plugged in, their electrical plugs have to stick out from under the hoods of the cars. * There are only five chartered banks in Canada: Toronto Dominion Bank (TD Bank), Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). All of them have branches across Canada. * Canada maintains diplomatic relations with Cuba. Vacation packages to Cuba are popular; and Cuban cigars are readily available. * At the time Forever Knight was being made, virtually all stores, including supermarkets, automatically put purchases in plastic bags. Nor did they offer customers the option of paper bags if they preferred. * Train service is dominated by the Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Rail (CP) companies. The former runs both passenger and freight trains. Since 1986, the latter handles only freight. "The Canadian" is a transcontinental passenger rail service from Toronto to Vancouver. *